"Kokichi!" Himiko announced triumphantly as she strode into the dining hall. Kokichi looked up from the chocolate cake that he was eating at Himiko, and nodded to her.
"Hey, ugly!" Kokichi joked. Himiko sat next to him with a confident and smug smile.
"Nyeh...you won't be sounding so sassy when I beat you in 'Two Truths and A Lie!'" she said.
"Oh, yeeaahh..." Kokichi said. "You said you were going to practice lying some more. So, what, are you gonna say that your hair is green, now? Nee-heehee!"
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out!" Himiko replied. Kokichi put his fork down, and faced Himiko.
"Okie-dokie, then! Give it your best shot, Monkey Buns!" he said.
"Nyeh...oookay...here I go..." Himiko said, putting her game face on. She moved her hair from her face, and cleared her throat. Then, she started shaking her hands. "Mee, mee, mee, MEE, mee, mee, meeeee!!! Nyeh...red leather, yellow leather. Red leather, yellow leath-"
"What are you doing?" Kokichi interrupted.
"I'm shaking the nerves off, and doing vocal exercises," Himiko said. "If I shake off the nerves, I can act natural easier when I lie. And, the vocal exercises will help me to not stumble through my words when I lie. Don't you do that?"
"Yeeeaahh, right after I take a ride on my magic carpet with my pet flying pig!" Kokichi replied sarcastically.
"Don't give me your sass," Himiko said before taking a deep breath. Then, she stared Kokichi in the face, and opened her mouth to speak. However, no sound came out. Kokichi looked at her expectantly.
"Weeeeelll...?" he said.
"Aaa...aaa..." Himiko squeaked nervously. "Gah, I'm sorry! I'm just so nervous!"
"I thought you were confident that you could do this," Kokichi said with a smug grin.
"I know, I know!" Himiko said. "It's just that...hey! Can you hear a lie?" Kokichi raised a confused brow at her.
"Huh?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
"Well, remember when you told me that you can tell when someone is lying if you spot their tell? Like, if they had shifty eyes, or if they fidgeted a lot?" Himiko asked.
"Um...yeah," Kokichi replied.
"Well, could you tell if someone is lying just by listening to them?" Himiko asked.
"Of course," Kokichi replied. "A tell doesn't have to be something you can see; you can also tell a person is lying if the tone of their voice changes. That's one way, anyway."
"Oh..." Himiko said. "Well...I hope my voice stays the same. I ask because when we play, could you not look at me?" Himiko said. "I get nervous when you stare at me." Kokichi chuckled, and rolled his eyes.
"Fiiiiine," he replied, and closed his eyes. "Better?"
"Nyeh...actually, yeah!" Himiko said. "Okay, I'm ready!"
"Go ahead," Kokichi said, keeping his eyes closed.
"Okay...my blood type is O; I hate scuba diving; and I have claustrophobia," Himiko said. Kokichi raised his eyebrows, intrigued at her responses.
"Okay, okay..." he said, tapping his chin in thought. "So, I know you hate scuba diving because you don't like the ocean, so that's definitely the truth. Hmm...let's see...it's between your blood type, and claustrophobia. Welp, I got it!"
"You do?!" Himiko exclaimed. "What is it?" Kokichi opened his eyes, and smiled triumphantly at her.
"You don't have claustrophobia, HimiCocoa Bean!" he said.
"NYEEEHHH!! WH-WHAT?!" Himiko asked.
"Nee-heehee...if you were claustrophobic, you wouldn't like being in our pillow fort," Kokichi said. "Plus, I've never seen you freak out in an elevator before, and I know claustrophobes hate being in elevators. And, if that's the case, it's true that your blood type is, in fact, O! Sooo...you having claustrophobia is a lie! Final answer!"
"Humm...you're right," Himiko huffed, crossing her arms, and pouting.
"Haha, yay! This is fun! Entertain me more, peasant!" Kokichi teased.
"Okay, okay...close your eyes, again," Himiko said. Kokichi nodded, then closed his eyes. "Okay...let's see." Himiko started drumming her fingers on the table. Kokichi reached out and stopped her fingers. He opened his eyes, and gave her a meaningful look. "Oops...sorry," Himiko said, and placed her hands tightly in her lap. "Let me rethink my answers." Kokichi closed his eyes again as he patiently allowed Himiko some time to change her responses. "Nyeh...got it. Before coming here, I was the shortest girl in my previous high school; I used to be afraid of the dark; and when I was younger, I used to...well...never mind. Um..."
"No! No! What were you gonna say?" Kokichi asked.
"I can't! It's too embarrassing!" Himiko said.
"Aww...but I wanna knooow!" Kokichi whined.
"Um...I was gonna say...I, um...I-" Himiko stuttered.
"Don't liiiieee," Kokichi warned in a singsongy voice. "I'll know if you do, so you might as well just tell me what you were going to say."
"Ohh...fine," Himiko muttered. "But...don't gross out, okay?"
"Ooo! Drama! This is gonna be good!" Kokichi said, squealing with excitement.
"Nyeh...I used to wet myself a lot in-" Himiko said.
"The second one is a lie," Kokichi replied immediately, his voice dripping with disappointment. He opened his eyes to give Himiko a disapproving stare.
"Wh...how'd you know?!" Himiko asked. "And...why do you look and sound so disappointed?"
"Himiko, it's no secret that you used to wet yourself! It's kinda obvious!" Kokichi said.
"Well...how do you know that the first one isn't a lie?" Himiko asked in a small voice.
"Well, I just used process of elimination," Kokichi replied. "You and your family do actual magic that you have to hide from others, right? So it would make sense that some of the spells you performed in the past had to be done in the dark, whether it be at night when everybody was asleep, or if it was during the day, you did magic in the basement where you made sure nobody else could see. It would make sense to use the darkness to your advantage."
"Wow, you're really good at this!" Himiko exclaimed, her eyes bugging out at Kokichi.
"Well, you're kinda makin' it a little too easy for me, Himiko," Kokichi pointed out.
"Mmm...okay, I'll give it one more try," Himiko said.
"Okay, then. Make it challenging for me," Kokichi said. "And keep your hands in your lap so you don't tap your fingers on something."
"Got it," Himiko replied, keeping her hands firmly in her lap. "By the way, am I good at keeping my voice steady?"
"Yuppers! I'm impressed!" Kokichi replied.
"Yaaaay," Himiko cheered. "Okay, okay, I'm ready." Kokichi closed his eyes, and waited for Himiko to start. "When I first saw Rantaro, I thought he was hot..." Kokichi interrupted with a snort. "...My favorite number is three; and I used to take ballet lessons in elementary school." Kokichi opened his eyes.
"Hmm...okaaayyy..." Kokichi said. "This is a bit more challenging, which I like."
"Hee-hee..." Himiko giggled, feeling pleased with herself.
"Okay, I locked in my answer!" Kokichi replied immediately.
"What...is it?" Himiko asked cautiously.
"M'kay, did you notice how you asked me that just now?" Kokichi asked. "You sounded a bit hesitant and quiet."
"Nyeh...what about it?" Himiko asked.
"When you said that three is your favorite number, you sounded exactly like that compared to how confidently you said the other ones," Kokichi explained. "Therefore, three being your favorite number must be the lie!"
"D'OH!! DANGGIT!!" Himiko said, throwing the palm of her hand against her forehead. "Nyeh...I kinda hesitated a little, because if I picked three as my favorite number, it would have been too obvious, since three is a magic number. But, at that point, it was already too late."
"Well, that's fine, Himiko," Kokichi said.
"Really?"
"Yeah! It's good because you kept going, and you didn't stutter, or anything," Kokichi said. "I think you at least deserve some credit for sticking to that answer. Just...make sure to keep your voice sounding confident next time." Himiko nodded.
"So...you're okay with me thinking that Rantaro was hot when I first saw him?" she asked in a timid voice. Kokichi scoffed.
"Why should I be mad? You chose me over him," he replied.
"Nyeh...that's true," Himiko replied. "Well...guess I'm not as good at 'Two Truths and A Lie' as I thought."
"Well, it was pretty good for your first time," Kokichi said. "But next time, make it more challenging for me, 'kay?"
"Okay," Himiko replied as Kokichi kissed her cheek. "By the way, is that the last piece of chocolate cake?"
"Yeeaahh..." Kokichi replied apologetically. "But, don't worry! I'm sure Kirumi will make some more!"
"Humm...well, I hope she does it soon," Himiko said. "I think I'm in the mood for some chocolate cake. Well...I'll see you later, Kokichi."
"Alrighty, Monkey Buns!" Kokichi said before giving Himiko a kiss goodbye. She gave him a wave before leaving the dining room. When Kokichi was alone, a naughty grin crossed his face as he reached underneath the table, and pulled out a large platter of chocolate cake. "Nee-heehee...that was a lie," he snickered mischievously to himself before sneaking the large platter off to his room.